
Paramount - Paramount
Release date: 2003-05-06
DVD
Director:John McTiernan
Actors: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones
Action, Action / Adventure, Action Thriller, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Claustrophobic, Cold War, Color, Drama, English, Feature, Feature Film-action/Adventure, Forceful, High Production Values, Mind Games, Movie, Ominous, Political Thriller, Questionable for Children, Rousing




Some punk junkie named Sick Boy in the the Danny Boyle cult classic TRAINSPOTING espouses a "theory" of his in which he uses the career of Sean Connery to illustrate. Basically he believes that for everybody in life at one point you got it, then you don't. There's a period in your life, probably when you were younger, when you could have had *it* but then you loose *it* and are past your prime. Well, the other character listening to this was right to feel unimpressed by this cocky punk's disrespectful and plainly dumb understanding of human accomplishment. Sean Connery was the original and coolest James Bond but it was not all downhill from those glory days. Connery's performance THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER disproves Sick Boy's theory (along with a few others in his career btw). Alec Baldwin is also good, his take on CIA agent Jack Ryan much more compelling than Harrison Ford's or Ben Affleck's. Ford looks old. Affleck looks like Affleck. There are a few famous faces that grace the screen in this one: Darth Vader's voice, a Senator and 2008 presidential candidate. The ocean and ships sort of steal the show in these things though when you think about it. The ocean looks great on the silver screen, or your TV for that matter. The story is the fantastical stuff of nerdy military loving rightwing cold war warriors sweaty dreams. I think Tom Clancy books are a dime a dozen but they got at least one decent escapist flick out of 'em. This is the most cinematic and well made Jack Ryan film.
The Hunt for Red October (Special Collector's Edition)
Paramount should be ashamed of themselves. The picture quality is atrocious. DO NOT BUY THIS MOVIE IN DVD FORMAT! Hopefully they haven't screwed up the Blue Ray edition.
Unfortunately, I gave my old Laser disk player and movies away months ago. I have been replacing my favorites with DVDs and Red October was my latest purchase. I will probably throw it in the trash.
I am, Peter Harrison..... A disgruntled customer and pissed at Paramount for allowing this to happen.